The present invention relates to apparatus for dispensing pollen to be applied to plants such as fruit trees.
In the commercial growing of crops such as pears, apples, etc., better crop or fruit set may be obtained by cross pollination. Pollen is extracted from certain varieties of fruit trees and used to pollinate the buds of other trees by being released or dispensed in the vicinity thereof. Since the pollen is quite expensive, it is of course desirable to release it in a manner which provides the most efficient utilization thereof in terms of both the amount and uniformity of the released pollen which is ultimately effective. Prior dispensing techniques have included release from low-flying aircraft, bee hive inserts, firing from shotgun shells, etc. None of these means is entirely satisfactory since the operator cannot observe precisely where the dispensed pollen is going, and cannot control the amount of pollen dispensed in any given location.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide apparatus for dispensing plant pollen into the air in a controllable and efficient manner.
A further object is to provide pollen dispensing apparatus which is single, inexpensive and easy to use.
Other objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.